Is there an accessible universal Smart TV remote?

By Blindcat, 19 January, 2015

Forum
iOS and iPadOS

I got a nice Visio LED LCD TV for Christmas. It is the first TV I've had that includes Smart TV functions. I've already gotten sighted help to set the TV up with my Netflix and Amazon Instant accounts, but I can't access them myself.

This wouldn't be a big deal for me if it was just the Netflix since I have an Apple TV, but I really would like the chance to access my Amazon movies that I've gotten for free over the last few years for buying various movies on disc and the Apple TV doesn't offer Amazon Instant Video as of yet, and may never if Apple and Amazon don't figure out that they would make more money by allowing their services on each other's devices.
The first thing I did was to search the iTunes Store for a Visio app and I didn't find one. Samsung and many others have apps, but not Visio. So, I am hoping that there might be a universal remote app that can be programmed to control all of those functions and that might be accessible. I know it is a long shot, a generic app is not going to give audio feedback about what is on the screen be it a list of movies, a list of settings or whatever, but I am hoping I might find something that will give me at least some access.

Thanks,

Chris

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Comments

By fastfinge on Thursday, February 5, 2015 - 21:19

Hi:

I've tried the roomie, Dijit, and Harmony remote apps. None of them were even close. While I don't have a smart TV, yet, I'd love to have an iphone universal remote, just to save me remembering 4 or 5 different remote layouts. The problem with all of these apps is that they use gestures that aren't voiceover compatible, and almost none of the actual remote buttons are labelled. If you find something that works, I'd love to know about it. At this point, I'm thinking that the best option is going to be for me to get hardware that is supported by an already accessible app. For example, I'm going entirely Sonos for my stereo system, so if I can find a Smart TV and Blueray/DVD player that have accessible apps, I won't need to worry about the universal remotes. I realize this solution is far from ideal, as it's not exactly easy on the budget. But at the moment, I don't know of any other options.